Massachusetts Consortium for Innovative Education Assessments: Creating a Grassroots Accountability System to Leverage State Policy Change

Standardized testing remains the predominant proficiency measure for students and schools, placing teacher and student focus on test-prep and lower order skills while maintaining achievement gaps that penalize underserved students. The Massachusetts Consortium for Innovative Assessment seeks to close this gap and change assessment measures on a state level by training teachers to become leaders in implementing student-centered performance assessments and encouraging state legislators to consider alternative, forward-thinking accountability systems.

How Boston Pilot Schools Use Freedom Over Budget, Staffing, and Scheduling to Meet Student Needs

This report provides evidence and examples that effective implementation of autonomies in schools with clear visions for teaching and learning creates schools in which students have a better chance of succeeding.

Boston Community Leadership Academy: Pilot School Story of Transformation and Results

This case study highlights one low performing Boston public school that decided to become a Pilot School and transformed itself over a period of two years, becoming one of Boston’s more desirable high schools.

Strong Results, High Demand: A Four-Year Study of Boston’s Pilot High Schools

This study examines Boston’s closely watched Pilot high schools over a four-year period (2001-2005) to discover who is attending Pilot high schools and how subgroups of the Boston student population are faring in Pilot high schools.

Experiential Education in Boston’s Public Schools: A Three-Year Demonstration Project

The Pilot Schools Experiential Education Demonstration (PSEED) project was intended to deepen and embed high-quality experiential education within each participating school’s academic programs. This report summarizes the three years of work in the seven Pilot schools, all of whom had diverse goals and implementation plans.

Closing Opportunity and Cultural Competency Gaps

Recent data from Boston Public Schools revealed policies that perpetuate academic gatekeeping along racial lines as well as an absence of culturally responsive curriculum. See how the district is reforming to promote equity in learning opportunities and learn recommendations for any district confronting similar challenges.

Ready for the Future: The Role of Performance Assessments in Shaping Graduates’ Academic, Professional, and Personal Lives

Based on in-depth interviews with graduates from three Boston Public Schools with well-established performance-based assessment systems, this paper analyzes graduates’ preparation for future academic, professional, and personal endeavors. Overall, despite a few challenge areas, graduates who were interviewed say the study schools’ performance assessment systems contributed to their success in college and in the world of work.

Including Performance Assessments in Accountability Systems: A Review of Scale-up Efforts

This literature and field review offers a comprehensive understanding of previous efforts at scaling up the use of performance assessments across districts and states. Through systematic description and comparison of seven large-scale initiatives, the report identifies the strengths and vulnerabilities in each initiative. The review concludes with implications and recommendations that will support the success of using performance assessments in district and state accountability systems.

English Learners in Boston Public Schools: Enrollment, Engagement and Academic Outcomes, AY2003-AY2006

This report is based on a study of the academic experience of Boston English Learners (ELs) after 2002, when the Transitional Bilingual Education (TBE) was replaced with Sheltered English Immersion (SEI) in response to the passing of Question 2. The research team documented the impact of the policy change on the academic experience of ELs using existing local statistics, public records and staff accounts obtained through interviews, calling for local policy makers to make a solid commitment to teacher training that focuses on evidence-based instructional practices and positive outcomes.

Creating Schools That Work: Lessons for Reform from Successful Urban High Schools

Historically, urban high schools have proven to be the most challenging educational institutions in which to affect lasting reform. Yet policymakers and practitioners in Massachusetts have had insufficient evidence to guide their decision making on the conditions that work to improve student achievement at this level. This report explores this critical issue and generates discussion around possible strategies for leveraging best practices used in Massachusetts urban high schools that are improving.

Family and Student Choices in Boston Public Schools

This report utilizes Boston Public Schools’ student assignment process data combined with CCE’s longitudinal student level database to answer questions about school choice by Boston families. The research whether or not families disproportionately choose one school type (BPS Pilot schools and other BPS schools) and what happens when families do not receive their first choices through the BPS choice system of student assignment.

The Path Forward: School Autonomy and Its Implications for the Future of Boston’s Public Schools

This study explores the question of how Boston Public Schools can strengthen and support autonomy and accountability across its portfolio to promote innovation and expand access to equity and high performance.

Springfield Public Schools English Language Learner Status Report

The Springfield Public Schools, MA, requested that CCE conduct an evaluation of their English language learner student enrollment, services, staffing, and programming. CCE collected and analyzed data from multiple sources, including interviews with teachers and administrators, focus groups of parents of ELL students, program documents, and student achievement data.

Improving Educational Outcomes of English Language Learners in Schools and Programs in Boston Public Schools

The first of two companion studies examining the enrollment and performance of English language learners (ELLs) in Boston Public Schools (BPS) over seven school years (SY2003-SY2009). This first report revealed that ELL students often lack access to quality learning opportunities, and that teachers need support to address ELL student needs.

Learning from Consistently High Performing and Improving Schools for English Language Learners in Boston Public Schools

The second in a set of companion studies examining the enrollment and performance of English language learners (ELLs) in Boston Public Schools (BPS) over seven school years (SY2003-SY2009). This study focused on BPS schools with consistently high or steadily improving performance, and highlighted the practices to which educators attributed their success.

The second of a pair of studies commissioned by Boston Public Schools (BPS), examines four Boston public schools in which Black and Latino male students are doing comparably better than their peers. It features case studies that identify promising educational models, policies, and practices associated with increased engagement and improved outcomes for Black and Latino males in BPS.

Opportunity and Equity: Enrollment and Outcomes of Black and Latino Males in Boston Public Schools

The first of two reports commissioned by Boston Public Schools (BPS) to examine the outcomes for Black and Latino males in BPS, and identify the extent and implications of achievement and opportunity gaps where they exist.

Quality Performance Assessment: A Guide for Schools and Districts

Quality Performance Assessment: A Guide for Schools and Districts, published by CCE in 2012, looks at the process of making performance assessments that are rigorous, valid, and reliable and, at the same time, relevant and engaging for students. The guide leads readers through the process by using tools, protocols, and case studies that showcase various entry points and experiences of the school.